Yanks Have Huge Offensive Night, Crush Rays

NEW YORK -- Bobby Abreu finished off the Devil Rays all by himself -- in the first inning. Hideki Matsui kept getting applause all night.

Abreu hit a three-run homer and a three-run double in a nine-run first and finished with a career-high seven RBIs in the New York Yankees' 124 laugher over Tampa Bay on Tuesday.

"It was crazy," said Abreu, who went 2-for-3 with a thirdinning sacrifice fly and fourth-inning flyout to the warning track, just missing a grand slam.

Matsui, returning from the broken left wrist that ended his consecutive games streak on May 11, went 4-for-4 with a walk, earning several standing ovations and tying his major league high for hits in a game. As fans rose before his first at-bat, he showed rare emotion, taking off his batting helmet and waving it at the crowd of 52,265.

"When I got to the plate, I never even imagined I would receive such an ovation," he said through a translator. "I felt nothing but appreciation."

Derek Jeter batted in each of the first four innings without getting an official at-bat: He had three walks and was hit by a pitch. He didn't bat again, and his career-high 21game hitting streak remained intact under baseball's rules. With three runs scored, he increased his total to 102 and broke 100 for the 10th time.

Mike Mussina (14-6) pitched 6 1/3 shutout innings to win for the first time in six starts, and the Yankees lowered their magic number to nine for clinching their ninth straight AL East title, maintaining a season-high 10 1/2game lead over Boston.

Pitching on six days' rest after a stint on the disabled list caused by a strained right groin, Mussina allowed five hits, struck out five and walked none. He had been 0-3 since beating Tampa Bay on July 30.

"I felt better today. I felt more comfortable out there," he said.

New York (87-56) won its fourth straight and moved 31 games over .500 for the first time this season. The Devil Rays (56-86), falling like leaves from trees, dropped 30 games under .500 for the first time this year.

Abreu became the first Yankees player with six RBIs in an inning since Gil McDougald in the ninth on May 3, 1951, at the St. Louis Browns, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, and the first major leaguer with six RBIs in the first since Oakland's Matt Stairs had a grand slam and a two-run single against the California Angels on July 5, 1996.

Abreu, who has 31 RBIs in 41 games since the Yankees acquired him from Philadelphia, had 11 runners on base in his four at-bats. He homered on the first pitch he saw from starter Tim Corcoran (4-8) for a 3-0 lead, a drive off an advertisement board attached to the bottom of the upper deck in right field.

Notes: New York, 9-3 against Tampa Bay this year, had not scored nine runs in the first inning since June 5, 1988, when it won 9-2 at Baltimore. ... Down 12-0, Tampa Bay scored in the ninth when Dioner Navarro and Ben Zobrist hit a two-run singles off Octavio Dotel. ... Miguel Cairo entered for New York at 2B in the seventh. He had been sidelined since Aug. 5 with a strained left hamstring. ... Only Lou Gehrig (13) and Babe Ruth (11) had more 100-run seasons with the Yankees than Jeter.

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